Butterfly
by Reflection of a Broken Dream
Summary: Shino x Hinata Fluff Shino's dad sent Shino out to do a routine check of the bugs in a particular area and he gets some help from Hinata. The last they check out is the caterpillars...and Hinata's express interest in them makes him curious...


**Butterfly**

**Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream**

**Pairing: Shino x Hinata (from Naruto) (Fluff)**

**A Quick Note**:

- This is placed _way _before Shippuden...like about six months or so after they got out of the ninja academy.

- It's short, but fluffy! XD

**Disclaimer**:

I DON'T own Naruto or any of the awesome characters.

If I _did_...Shino and Hinata would be together...and they're not.

The inspiration for this fic came from Gabzillaz from Deviantart (not me, not claiming this pic as mine- I DON'T OWN IT!), who created a picture of Hinata (from Shippuden or later) in a blue kimono with black edging, butterflies on it and the black tie at her waist, a yin yang symbol in the background (along with multitudes of butterflies) and it looks like she's holding a caterpillar mask. The saying "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly" across the top and bottom of the pic is credited to Richard Buckminster Fuller. (I also use it in this fic and it _also _doesn't belong to me!)

(By the way, you should look up the picture- it's awesome!)

**Butterfly**

**-****One-Shot****-**

Shino looked to the far side, seeing a mass of short black hair with blue highlights shift as the girl the hair belonged to shifted her weight from one foot to the other habitually. White eyes with hints of lavender focused on a low tree branch in front of her. A question instantly came to mind.

"Have you found some, Hinata?," the stoic voice of Shino asked, the boy wondering if she had found the last of the insects he was asked to look for- caterpillars.

"Mmmn," Hinata hummed softly and nodded, looking back at him with a slightly shy and slightly proud smile that he found endearing. "T-There are some over here."

"Good work," Shino replied softly, making his way over to her and standing at her side, both pairs of eyes looking back at the low branch, one set hidden behind round black shades. They observed three caterpillars crawling around on the branch and one chrysalis hanging limply from the underside of it. Shino got a little closer, observing the insects a long moment before backing away and looking back to the girl he had become so close with since team eight had been formed about half a year ago. "Thank you for helping me look for all of the various insects father asked me to look for in this area. It was much easier with your help." Kiba had opted out, both to his displeasure and pleasure. He could have helped...but, at the same time, Shino enjoyed having time alone with Hinata. Shino had more in common with her, and he could relate to her more easily. Not to mention the feelings he had for her that seemed to grow every time he came around her...not that he would ever admit that to her aloud...

"O-Ohh...ahh...," Hinata flushed and looked away, her hands fiddling with her white jacket. "Y-You're welcome, Shino-kun. I was glad t-to help." She gave a small smile before looking back to him. "Are t-they in good health and all?"

"Yes," Shino inclined his head. "Everything is as it should be."

"I'm glad," Hinata nodded back at him, observing the caterpillars again. Now he was curious...

"Do you like caterpillars?," Shino asked, trying to hide the curiosity from his voice as he watched her observe them.

"Mnnn," Hinata nodded. That made him even more curious. Hinata was the only girl outside of his family that would willingly approach him without hesitation of _any _kind...the only one he knew of that didn't mind bugs, or liked them (excluding butterflies). Now that he knew a species (for definite) that she liked...naturally, he wanted to know _why_. (If anything, girls usually liked butterflies, _not _caterpillars. Because of this, she intrigued him.)

"May I ask why you like caterpillars?," Shino asked outright, the girl looking contemplative before opening her mouth to speak, her eyes still trained on the small worm-like creatures.

"I like them because...because there is nothing in a caterpillar...that tells you it's going to be a butterfly," Hinata replied softly, surely. He couldn't help but blink at her simple and confident explanation. (Usually she was anything _but _confident. Not to mention her lack of stuttering- it was rare, but she was able to speak without stuttering sometimes...) "A plain little caterpillar that is often hated for eating plants...turns into a beautiful butterfly that is adored and is important in the ecosystem, helping to spread pollen and keep plants alive." His eyes caught a glimmer of sadness in her white orbs. "I guess...I kind of feel similar to the caterpillars..." Shino's lips parted in a silent gasp as Hinata watched the caterpillars a little longer. He understood what she meant, thinking of it in terms of her abilities as a kunoichi, with how clumsy she could be even though she tried _so _hard... He also took into consideration that her father always made her feel insignificant, if not hated. It took only a moment to gather his thoughts on what he wanted to say to her, on what he had wanted to say to her for a _while _now.

"Hinata," Shino spoke softly, gently placing his hand on her shoulder as she looked back at him with a soft hum. "It takes time for the caterpillar to undergo metamorphosis to become a butterfly." Hinata blinked her large white doe eyes at him in obvious surprise. "Your metamorphosis is in the making...it just takes time. ...In a few years...you will be a beautiful butterfly." He watched the girl's eyes widen and her cheeks fill with the dark rosy hue that was usually reserved only for Naruto. He felt accomplished at how his words had come out, that he had actually got _something _of his feelings for her out, _and _that he had made her cheeks flush like that.

"A-A-Ahhh...u-umm...," Hinata stammered and looked away, her fumbling hands held over her heart. "T-Thank you...Shino-kun." He couldn't help his small, hidden, smile.

"You're welcome," he replied smoothly, patting her shoulder and gently grasping it before releasing it. "Are you ready to go back?"

"Hm? Oh...um...yes," She replied somewhat nervously, as most always, as she turned back to him. He hummed and inclined his head before leading her back to the village, a certain thought running through his mind as his small smile lingered at the corners of his lips.

'_I hope...someday...she will be __**my **__butterfly_.'

**-****END****-**

Cute, ne? My first fluffy one-shot and my second posted.

Please review! XD

**Review Responses:**

- **dragonick711 **- Thank you very much! :D I don't do many short and cute/fluffy stories, so I'm glad you like it. :P

- **AntwSpring **- Thank you. :D


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